JAPANESE FILMS

The Dark Side of the Nation

This is part eight of “Films of 1949” series (Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). In the previous post “Mistresses and Lovers”, I mentioned “There were many bloody incidents involving assassinations and terrorism, all linked to underground operatives of U.S. secret agency.” Alex in Florida asked me what this “underground operatives of U.S. secret agency” means. I’m afraid I dropped this historical trivia too casually, so I try to explain this. Before going into details, I would like to provide a little background. It’s about a railway system. The railway system in Japan was extremely important back in 1949. The Japanese Government Railway (Tetsudosho, J.G.R.) …

 
JAPANESE FILMS

Mistresses and Lovers

This is part seven of “Films of 1949” series (Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). Though Imai’s “Green Mountain” captured the new spirit of the time, liberation from old era, the year 1949 was also at the entrance into another long turmoil; the Cold War. Joseph McCarthy gave his “Wheeling Speech” in February of 1950. Korean War also broke out in 1950. Yes, U.S. was also heading for the dark age. Inevitably, U.S. policy toward Japanese democracy quickly shifted to that of anti-communist.

 
JAPANESE FILMS

Someone Who Looks Like Gary Cooper (cont.)

This is part six of “Films of 1949” series (Part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). Nobuyoshi Araki, a renowned photographer and an artist, admires young Setsuko Hara in “Late Spring” in his own particular way. He considers her sturdy build and impressive physique the most “photogenic”, very favorable human (female) features in visual arts. For Hara was uniquely “different” from other actresses of the era in this regard, Araki notes, she radiates her visual presence on the screen tremendously. He comments rather jokingly on the scene in which Hara was readied for wedding in the last of “Late Spring”(1); …

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